The United States has urged North Korea to immediately suspend plans to launch a satellite, saying the move is in violation of a U.N. resolution.

State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood told reporters Tuesday that U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718 prohibits the North from engaging in ballistic missile-related activities.

He said some of the building blocks for developing a space-launch vehicle and for producing long-range missiles are similar, suggesting the North’s alleged satellite launch would violate the resolution.

Wood said intimidation and threats are not helpful to the process of trying to bring about regional stability.

He said Pyongyang, instead, needs to focus on denuclearization, living up to the commitments it made as part of the six-party framework.

Wood’s comments come after North Korea declared on Tuesday that it was preparing to send a satellite into orbit as part of its space program. South Korea, the United States and Japan suspect the launch is a test of a long-range ballistic missile.